And unlike Game 1 and four times against the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round, they held on to a third-period lead.

But this unusual method resulted in the Coyotes' most convincing win of the playoffs -- a 5-3 victory in front of 17,217 at Jobing.com Arena on Sunday to hand the Coyotes a 2-0 series lead.

"A little bit different, but I think we're happy with that," goalie Mike Smith said. "Obviously we played more to the way we're capable of playing. We can gain a lot of confidence from the way we won tonight."

It was one of the team's better efforts because the whole team was involved.

Aside from Smith's sound play, which featured 30 saves, three different lines contributed goals. The fourth line was the only one not to strike, but Gilbert Brule, Daymond Langkow and Kyle Chipchura were creating chances off of turnovers and galvanizing momentum on every shift.

The first period set the tone. The Coyotes were physical, established a solid cycle behind the Predators' net and were sending traffic to goalie Pekka Rinne's crease.

That eventually resulted in a 1-0 lead at 8:32 when defenseman Keith Yandle found center Antoine Vermette driving to the net and Vermette redirected Yandle's pass past Rinne.

The period would end 1-1 after defenseman Kevin Klein made a slick behind-the-back pass to Andrei Kostitsyn at 17:13, but the Coyotes didn't sit back.

The Prime Line added a pair of goals in the second to make it 3-1, including one on a smart play by winger Radim Vrbata, who faked that he was taking the puck behind the net before sending the puck through Rinne's legs to the front of the crease where center Martin Hanzal poked it in.

But if there was one downside for the Coyotes it was their efficiency on the penalty kill.

After relentless pressure that hemmed the Coyotes in their own zone during a call midway through the second, a point shot from defenseman Ryan Suter banked off Patric Hornqvist's shin pad and behind Smith at 11:20 with only five seconds left on the man advantage.

But 30 seconds later, the Coyotes reinstated the two-goal cushion. Rinne stopped captain Shane Doan's shot from the wing, but the puck kicked right out to Taylor Pyatt, who buried the rebound to make it 4-2.

On the Coyotes' next penalty kill, Suter's shot just inside the faceoff circle fooled Smith and the goal planted the Coyotes in a familiar situation -- carrying a one-goal lead late in the third period.

But this time around, the Coyotes had the killer instinct to build on that lead when Doan tipped a point shot by defenseman Derek Morris just 2:43 after Suter's goal.

It's the first time the franchise has taken a 2-0 series lead since 1987 when the Winnipeg Jets went up by that margin on the Calgary Flames.

"That's home-ice advantage, and you want to take advantage of it," Vrbata said. "We did that, and now we have a job to do in Nashville."

Report

Key player

Winger Radim Vrbata had a goal and an assist. These types of performances became common during the regular season but after struggling through Round 1, the production was an encouraging sign for Vrbata and the Coyotes.

Key moment

After the Predators pulled within one at 53 seconds into the third period, the Coyotes re-established a two-goal lead on a set play off the faceoff. Captain Shane Doan redirected a point shot from defenseman Derek Morris at 3:36 to make it 5-3.

Key number

2: The Predators' power play went 2 for 2 in solving a Coyotes penalty kill that has been one of the better units during the playoffs.

View from the press box

Every playoff season, one team seems to make a magical run that no one predicted. Sometimes it ends in a Stanley Cup finals berth; other times it falls just short. Through eight games, it appears the Coyotes could be this year's postseason sweetheart. This series is far from over, but a 2-0 lead legitimizes the Coyotes as serious contenders against the Predators.